Ella Rawana Falls
Various waterfalls are advertised as something worth seeing with. The nearest to Ella being 7km South, just a little too much of a hike. A bus stops there according to a local and the cost, about 10p!
The bus duly rolls up after about 20 minutes, 10p and standing room only, but it's nice not to be hanging out the door! Winding down towards Ella Gap then, bumping along the narrow road with a steep drop on the left and Ella Rock extending high on the right. 10 minutes and the bus arrives at what is quite obviously a popular tourist spot with a handful of those touristy stands selling, well, basically, nothing useful! Further along, a host of locals boiling corn cobs over a camp fire. Plenty of monkeys around, turning tourist discards into tasty snacks.
Not on the scale of Victoria or Niagara, but these waterfalls do provide for some scenic photos as they gush from an altitude of, well, I don't know exactly but a good guesstimate of about 4000 ft over granite outcrops and into the valley below. Locals and tourists can take a bath for 37 rupees, and plenty seem to be making the most of this opportunity of a refreshing soak in some pristine mountain water.
Well, 10 minutes to snap the goings on here, then off for a hike, south along the road that leaves the hill country and arrives at the beach - several days of hiking, not for me though, not today. An hour will do, just to see what's around the next corner.
A ramshackle cafe about 200 yards away, perched on the valley side. Not the cleanest of places, but it's the only spot for a cup of tea, later. Oh, and they have a dragon scavenging for left over fish, chicken bones, just about anything that's tossed out from the kitchen. They call it a dragon, I'm not entirely sure what is - big sharp claws and a long snakelike tougne, I know it's not one of those water monitors though. Hiking further along and not really much more to see that's of significant interest. A few bamboo and concrete shacks, a handful of makeshift vegetable stands, a few cows and several dogs. Back to towards the falls then, and that little cafe. Fleeced again, cup of tea and a couple of flat bread snacks 150 rupees, about 75p. And the dragon had disappeared, shame as I quite enjoyed watching this little critter earlier. There was an element of excitement as the thing got creeping menacingly close at times.
A few more minutes at the falls, a few more photos recording the spot where mostly native visitors stop on their way into the hill country. A handful of Western tourists are in the mix as tuk tuks with happy drivers drop off and pick up. Much more fun on the bus hanging out the door though! And that privilege costs another 10p for the ride back up to Ella.
A good afternoons excursion, especially for visitors with an appreciation for nature and naturism, oops, I mean naturalism. 20p for the bus and 75p for refreshments, where in the world can that happen - answers on a postcard please.
Dinner tonight in Bandarawela. It's worth the effort of a 30 minute white knuckle bus ride to go and gorge on some really nice local food and at local prices. The place fits in with my 'reduce he risk of food poisoning' philosophy quite nicely. No meat, no seafood but plenty of vegetarian options, and busy, a very lively little town.
Various waterfalls are advertised as something worth seeing with. The nearest to Ella being 7km South, just a little too much of a hike. A bus stops there according to a local and the cost, about 10p!
The bus duly rolls up after about 20 minutes, 10p and standing room only, but it's nice not to be hanging out the door! Winding down towards Ella Gap then, bumping along the narrow road with a steep drop on the left and Ella Rock extending high on the right. 10 minutes and the bus arrives at what is quite obviously a popular tourist spot with a handful of those touristy stands selling, well, basically, nothing useful! Further along, a host of locals boiling corn cobs over a camp fire. Plenty of monkeys around, turning tourist discards into tasty snacks.
Not on the scale of Victoria or Niagara, but these waterfalls do provide for some scenic photos as they gush from an altitude of, well, I don't know exactly but a good guesstimate of about 4000 ft over granite outcrops and into the valley below. Locals and tourists can take a bath for 37 rupees, and plenty seem to be making the most of this opportunity of a refreshing soak in some pristine mountain water.
Well, 10 minutes to snap the goings on here, then off for a hike, south along the road that leaves the hill country and arrives at the beach - several days of hiking, not for me though, not today. An hour will do, just to see what's around the next corner.
A ramshackle cafe about 200 yards away, perched on the valley side. Not the cleanest of places, but it's the only spot for a cup of tea, later. Oh, and they have a dragon scavenging for left over fish, chicken bones, just about anything that's tossed out from the kitchen. They call it a dragon, I'm not entirely sure what is - big sharp claws and a long snakelike tougne, I know it's not one of those water monitors though. Hiking further along and not really much more to see that's of significant interest. A few bamboo and concrete shacks, a handful of makeshift vegetable stands, a few cows and several dogs. Back to towards the falls then, and that little cafe. Fleeced again, cup of tea and a couple of flat bread snacks 150 rupees, about 75p. And the dragon had disappeared, shame as I quite enjoyed watching this little critter earlier. There was an element of excitement as the thing got creeping menacingly close at times.
A few more minutes at the falls, a few more photos recording the spot where mostly native visitors stop on their way into the hill country. A handful of Western tourists are in the mix as tuk tuks with happy drivers drop off and pick up. Much more fun on the bus hanging out the door though! And that privilege costs another 10p for the ride back up to Ella.
A good afternoons excursion, especially for visitors with an appreciation for nature and naturism, oops, I mean naturalism. 20p for the bus and 75p for refreshments, where in the world can that happen - answers on a postcard please.
Dinner tonight in Bandarawela. It's worth the effort of a 30 minute white knuckle bus ride to go and gorge on some really nice local food and at local prices. The place fits in with my 'reduce he risk of food poisoning' philosophy quite nicely. No meat, no seafood but plenty of vegetarian options, and busy, a very lively little town.
No comments:
Post a Comment